Playtech has provided the latest legal update on the ongoing service fee issue with Caliplay, the firm’s Mexican joint-venture partner.
Issuing a further update to its investors, the gambling technology group responded to a Mexican court order issued by Caliplay on October 5, requesting the “annulment of its legal relationship with Playtech and its related parties.”
In its response, Playtech outlined that it had “accepted service of those proceedings to enable the Group to respond to them and is now able to provide an update on the content of the court filings in Mexico.”
Furthermore, the provider has suggested that “actions taken by Caliplay in the Mexican Court proceedings contravene the contractual agreements in place since the strategic agreement was originally established in 2014.”
The latest update in Playtech’s ongoing dispute builds on the issue which started in February after playtech approached the English courts for clarity on a disagreement with Caliplay involving the two entities’ joint venture.
The dispute revolves around whether Caliplay, the online brand of Mexican operator group Caliente, retains options to redeem an ‘additional services fee’ component of its strategic joint venture agreement.
Playtech insists that this can only be terminated by mutual consent, with closure terms settled by an individual investment bank. The firm has also secured an anti-suit injunction in England, alongside interim measures to halt Caliplay’s Mexican demands and enforce agreement terms, with a London trial date set for October 2024.
Meanwhile, the Mexican court has approved interim measures that involve redirecting fees owed to Playtech into a ‘trust account’ supervised by the court, with various rights and protections suspended under the agreement.
